Tesla CEO Elon Musk taunts US financial regulatory agency

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, openly derided the US Securities and Exchange Commission in an interview aired Sunday, having settled fraud charges with the regulatory agency over an errant tweet.

"I want to be clear. I do not respect the SEC -- I do not respect them" he said in an interview on the CBS network news program "60 Minutes."

Musk had to resign as Tesla chairman under a September arrangement with the SEC to settle fraud charges stemming from a tweet in which he said he planned to take the firm private and already had the financing to do it.

That caused a brief spike in Tesla's share price, leading so-called short-sellers, who have been betting on the stock crashing for years, to lose millions.